“Connected lighting” refers to lighting systems in which illumination sources are controlled not by a traditional, manually-operated mechanical switch between the mains and each illumination source (or not only by such a switch), but by a means of a more intelligent controller which connects to the illumination sources of the system either via a direct wireless data connection with each illumination source (e.g. via ZigBee) or via a wired or wireless data network (e.g. via a Wi-Fi network, 3GPP network or Ethernet network). For instance the controller may take the form of an application running on a user terminal such as a smartphone, tablet, or laptop or desktop computer.
Currently, such systems enable users to set static light scenes that may comprise white light, coloured light, or both. In order to allow such scenes to be created, the controller must present the user with a suitable set of controls or user interface. In one example, the controller enables the user to select an illumination source or group of such sources, and to manually input one or more parameters of the light to be emitted by that illumination source or group, e.g. to set a numerical value for the overall intensity of the emitted light and/or to set individual numerical values for the red, green and blue (RGB) components of the light. However, inputting numerical values in this manner is not very user friendly. In another, more user-friendly example, the controller presents the user with a picture such as a photograph, e.g. one chosen by the user, and enables the user to select a point in the photograph from which to pick a colour, e.g. by dragging and dropping a lamp icon onto the picture. The controller then sets the light output of the scene so as to correspond to the colour at the selected point in the picture. Using such methods a static scene can be easily created.
Some connected lighting systems may also include a dynamics engine to allow users to create dynamic lighting scenes as well, i.e. scenes in which the emitted light varies with time. Dynamic lighting is becoming increasingly popular, both for applications in the home and in professional domains such as the office, hospitality and retail.
However, creating dynamic lighting is not a straight-forward task for non-professional users (i.e. users who are not professional lighting engineers). Many current systems are limited in terms of how users are required to assign light transitions, and how best to distribute the effects over multiple illumination sources. Existing methods of accepting a user input to create a dynamic lighting effect rely on the metaphor of a timeline on which the user can define effects that then play out. These often repeat and, if there are multiple luminaries, the user must assign a sequence or design to multiple timelines, one for each of the different illumination sources. This is can be a time consuming process that does not always result in pleasing dynamics. Some mobile applications control dynamics by applying a random colour generator, or by allowing the user to drag-and-drop a colour picker over video content. However, the results are still often displeasing and/or repetitive.